CHICAGO – A federal court has ordered the operators of a Huntley restaurant to pay eight employees more than $105,000 in back wages and damages, despite the employers’ attempt to interfere with a U.S. Department of Labor investigation that found they illegally denied the workers their earned overtime wages.

MANCHESTER, NH – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation into the pay practices and use of child labor at a southern Maine bar and grill has found the employers failed to properly pay 36 workers their wages, falsified timecards to avoid paying overtime, and allowed minors to work long hours in excess of the legal limits. The investigation found that one of these underaged employees cleaned a hazardous meat slicer.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a notice of proposed rulemaking to revise regulations regarding who can be authorized by employees to act as their representative to accompany the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration compliance officers during physical workplace inspections.

WASHINGTON – El Departamento de Trabajo de los Estados Unidos inició hoy una serie de eventos a nivel nacional para conmemorar la Semana de los Derechos Laborales 2023 en la sede del departamento en Washington, uniéndose a funcionarios del gobierno mexicano para destacar la importancia de los derechos de los trabajadores migrantes y de cómo las agencias de cumplimiento del departamento trabajan con los consulados de todo el país para garantizar que se respeten sus derechos y que los violadores sean responsables.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today kicked off a series of nationwide events to mark Labor Rights Week 2023 at the department’s Washington headquarters by joining officials of the Mexican Embassy and other diplomatic missions to highlight the importance of migrant workers’ rights and how the department’s enforcement agencies work with consulates across the nation to ensure these rights are upheld and that violators are held accountable.

RALEIGH, NC – Dos investigaciones federales han recuperado $540,221 en salarios para 268 trabajadores H-2A de un padre y un hijo que operaban como contratistas de mano de obra agrícola en Carolina del Norte, y cuyas violaciones de las leyes federales incluyeron no pagar a algunos trabajadores sus salarios completos, proporcionar viviendas seguras y adecuadas y reembolsar los costos de transporte de los trabajadores.

RALEIGH, NC – Two federal investigations have recovered $540,221 in wages for 268 H-2A workers from a father and son, then operating as North Carolina farm labor contractors, and whose violations of federal laws included failing to pay some workers their full wages, to provide safe and adequate housing and to reimburse workers’ transportation costs.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Employee Benefits Security Administration will extend the grace period to obtain new Login.gov credentials for the EFAST2 filing system until Dec. 31, 2023, as part of the agency’s efforts to streamline the process for users.

Empleador:                            Patel Shippers LLC

                                                19925 SW 270th St.

Employer:                              Patel Shippers LLC

                                                19925 SW 270th St.

WASHINGTON – After severe wildfires swept across the Hawaiian island of Maui on Aug. 8, 2023, the state’s disaster declaration was approved, which cleared the way for federal aid to assist in recovery efforts. To support disaster-relief jobs, the U.S. Department of Labor today announced the initial award of $10.5 million to Hawaii.

NUEVA YORK– KDE Equine LLC – que opera bajo el nombre de Steve Asmussen Stables – ha llegado a un acuerdo con el Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. para reembolsar $129,776 a sus mozos de cuadra y paseadores de caballo para resolver violaciones del programa federal de trabajadores H-2B, que permite a los negocios emplear trabajadores con visa temporal.

AUBREY, TX – A federal workplace safety investigation has found that a Farmersville construction contractor could have prevented the loss of a 23-year-old employee by following required safety procedures for operating a mobile crane at an Aubrey work site.

FOSTORIA, OH – An Ohio-based vinyl tile manufacturer with a history of failing to protect workers from hazards at its Fostoria plant dating back to 2017, now faces an additional $545,853 in federal penalties after investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor.

SALT LAKE CITY – U.S. Department of Labor investigations into the employment practices of the operators of two Salt Lake City-area entertainment centers have assessed $166,908 in penalties and recovered $6,009 in back wages to resolve violations of federal child labor, minimum wage and overtime regulations affecting more than 100 adults and children they employed.

BOSTON – In early June 2022, an employee of a Vermont company that sells and services agricultural equipment observed their employer pumping wastewater from the facility’s service bays onto the ground bordering the Winooski River in Berlin. The employee reported their concerns about the potential harm to the river, first to supervisors and then to the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation.

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit in federal court to force a Waukegan roofing contractor to pay $360,531 in penalties for repeatedly exposing employees to falls from elevations, the leading cause of fatal injuries in the construction industry.

BISMARCK, ND – A federal whistleblower investigation has found the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality illegally retaliated against an environmental scientist after they reported safety concerns about the public water system to management and later contacted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Who:       U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division